Utah mom says son involved in failed Congo coup planned simple vacation with friend

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Two Utah women are pleading for their son/stepson to be returned safely after they said he was wrongfully detained in a failed plot to overthrow the government of Congo.

They said he had no part in any attempted coup.

All they can do is wait for the State Department to free the two Utah men arrested in Congo, but the images they’ve seen had them terrified.

“I just want my baby boy back,” said Rebecca Higbee, the mother of Tyler Thompson, one of two Utah men detained after an alleged attack on the Congolese Presidential Palace.

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Higbee said her son was only in Africa as part of a family vacation, and he had no knowledge about any attempted coup that would be taking place. The only reason they felt it would be safe for him to go was because he would be traveling with a man who supposedly had a security detail.

Thompson was invited to travel through several countries in Africa with his long-time friend, Marcel Malanga. Malanga is the son of Christian Malanga, the man accused of plotting the attack.

Christian Malanga was killed in a shootout with Congolese forces and the two men from Utah were detained shortly after.

Higbee said she was told about the arrest on Sunday by Marcel’s mother.

“She said, ‘I don’t know how to tell you this, but when the boys were over in Africa, somehow Marcel’s dad was shot in front of the boys and the boys were taken into custody. They’ve been beaten and they’re being tortured,’” she said.

Higbee said Marcel would visit his father in Africa frequently, and there was never talk about politics or any potential attack.

“Tyler, has been with friends with Marcel for years. They’ve been playing football together,” Higbee said. “Every summer, Marcel would go see his dad just like any divorced couple. He would go spend summers with his dad in Africa.”

Since Sunday, Higbee had been trying to get any information about her son. Friends and family searched online, and the images they saw frightened them.

“We just see images and every time we see an image my son seems more bloody, his wrist looks broken and his nose looks broken,” Higbee said.

Miranda Thompson is Tyler’s stepmother. She said Tyler was scrapbooking his trips to Africa, showing off their visit to Johannesburg and the restaurants they visited in Swaziland.

The last communication he sent to her was that he loved her. Since Sunday, no direct information.

“We don’t know where he is. We don’t know what he’s doing or what he’s going through. We’re just terrified,” Thompson said.

They could only wait for any news from the State Department.

“We get to trust that it’s their job and it’s what they do, and their job is to look after American citizens,” Thompson said. “Literally, all we can do, at this point, is trust that they are going to do that job.”

However, Thompson and Higbee said even the state department is having a hard time getting in contact with Tyler or Marcel. They had been told that the Congolese government is restricting access to both of them.

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